Pennsylvania has far too many school districts and local governments, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) told the politically divided General Assembly in his executive budget address Feb. 4. Consolidation, Rendell said, would help the state save key funds during an economic crisis.
Rendell proposed merging the state’s 500 school districts into no more than 100 as a way to rein in property taxes imposed at the local level and streamline funding. Neighboring Maryland, he noted, has only 24 school districts.
On the subject of local governments, the governor urged lawmakers to “accelerate local community mergers where it makes sense to do so.”
To help close an ever-widening budget shortfall, Rendell also suggested a number of “painful” cuts, including the elimination of a popular program providing high school students with free summer classes in the arts and sciences.
To boost revenue, Rendell proposed taxing the Keystone State’s growing natural-gas extraction industry, as West Virginia does. Another proposal would allow counties to exceed the state sales tax by 1 percent if they choose.
To read the full text, click
here.
Powered by